Thoughts on a Damp Evening

I watched bits and pieces of I,Robot again today. Thats one of those films that I've never seen all the way through... but the more I see it, the more I like it. Part of it is that I've always had a thing for Susan Calvin, the roboticist in the novels. What can I say, I like smart women. I think that the woman who plays her in the movie does a pretty good job with the role. I'd have liked to see her as a stronger character, less of a foil (a smart foil, but still a foil - she doesn't drive any of the action). But even so, I just like the movie. I think they did a pretty good job on the concept, and the plot. And the special effects.

I was also amazed when Will Smith got his obligatory shirt-off scene. Good lord.

Other things: I made the Cinnamon Swirl bread, and I'm moderately pleased with it. The recipe said that this would be a wet dough, but this stuff was really wet -- so gloppy that when I was done mixing, it took three tries to get it out of the mixer bowl -- pull this side, the other side adheres; pull the other side, and the first side adheres. Also, there were some glitches in the recipe -- like, saying to use a 9 inch pan but also saying to roll out the dough to 11 inches. Say What? I'm glad I made it, and I'd make it again -- but I think I'd give it more flour, and a lot more cinnamon sugar. It tasted bland, to me. I know, if I go to the CIA's baking course, it'll come out great -- in their kitchen, with their tools. Ahem.

The sourdough starter is doing nicely -- starting to froth up, making bubbles, all of that. Got that yeasty aroma. I'm thinking maybe Friday to make that bread.

I just pitched an article I'd saved for some time on making pizza, because it didn't tell me anything new -- well, not much; the guy did have an idea for how to get the pizza into the oven without a pizza peel, but I didn't think much of it. It was a good article, but it didn't give me any useful insights, like the one did about using the broiler to heat the toppings, or setting the two sides of the barbecue at different temps -- one to cook, one to add the toppings. But in a weird way it did somewhat confirm a feeling I'm getting, which is that when I want opinions on how to do something with baking, its best to look at the amateur sites. The ones who Really Know, the Baking Gurus, get to be very dogmatic, and sometimes they contradict each other on key points -- like, is it best to make sourdough starter in a warm environment or a cool one? Most say warm, but one Bread Guru whose book I'd bought says its got to be cool. If I knew more, perhaps I'd understand that these people aren't really contradicting each other, but at my level of knowledge, they sure are. And they treat this like its a religion. Come on, folks; its just bread. Good tasting bread, I agree, but its just bread!

Still reading The Agony and the Ecstasy, and I'm still enjoying it. I like historical fiction.